Like seemingly everyone else on the planet, I’ve started a podcast. Well, not just me — it’s me and my friends Kensho and Tiffany, two of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know.
I stole the format from Slate (I worship Slate podcasts and basically remain on Twitter only to interact with their hosts and producers.) It’s a weekly discussion show where we pick three topics having to do with classical music. It could be something about music and politics or culture, or a new album release, or an internet kerfuffle, or a bit of news related to the discipline or industry.
Crucially, we’re trying to make this show a broad-based look at the world of classical music. When classical music breaks through to the mainstream media, it’s usually just something to do with the world of the biggest orchestral institutions, or star conductors — very often it’s strikes or budget cuts or bad behavior.
But the way I see it, most of what happens in the world of classical music happens at a much more grassroots level. It happens in schools and houses of worship and (now more than ever) in people’s living quarters and online.
Oh, and I should mention: there’s also games (!) and listening recommendations in every episode. And we’re like, fun people. I promise!
The Classical Gabfest is now available wherever fine podcasts are downloaded (Apple, Spotify, YouTube, the world wide web, etc.) Enjoy!